The compound known as festinavir is a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) which is being developed for the treatment of HIV infection. The drug has shown considerable efficacy in early development, and with perhaps less toxicity than some other NRTIs, such as the drug stavudine (marketed under the trade name ZERIT®). Festinavir has the chemical formula C11N2O4H8, and the structural formula:

Festinavir was developed by Yale University in conjunction with two Japanese research scientists, and is protected by U.S. Pat. No. 7,589,078, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The '078 patent sets forth the synthesis of the primary compound, and other structural analogs. In addition, Oncolys BioPharma, Inc. of Japan has now published US 2010/0280235 for the production of 4′ ethynyl D4T. As starting raw material, the Oncolys method utilizes a substituted furan compound, furfuryl alcohol. In another publication by Nissan Chemical Industries of Japan, and set forth in WO 2011/099443, there is disclosed a method for producing a beta-dihydrofuran deriving compound or a beta-tetrahydrofuran deriving compound. In this process, a diol compound is used as the starting material. Nissan has also published WO 2011/09442 directed to a process for the preparation of a β-glycoside compound. Two further publications, each to Hamari Chemicals of Japan, WO 2009/119785 and WO 2009/125841, set forth methods for producing and purifying ethynyl thymide compounds. Pharmaset, Inc. of the U.S. has also published US 2009/0318380, WO 2009/005674 and WO 2007/038507 for the production of 4′-nucleoside analogs for treating HIV infection.
What is now needed in the art are new methods for the production of festinavir. The newly developed methods should be cost effective and obtain the final compound in relatively high yield, and should also utilize different starting material(s) and process mechanisms than what has been set forth in the published art, or is otherwise available to the skilled artisan.